Cellular communication system utilizing upgraded moving relays and methods useful in conjunction therewith

ABSTRACT

A moving cellular communication system comprising at least one upgraded moving relay including at least two base station functionalities and at least one mobile station functionality and a relay resource manager, all co-located, wherein each base station functionality from among the at least two base station functionalities of the upgraded moving relay is operative to communicate via antennae with at least one mobile station thereby to define a first radio link therebetween, and wherein each base station functionality has a connection to its co-located relay resource manager, wherein each mobile station functionality of the upgraded moving relay communicates via antennae with a unit which has base station functionality thereby to define at least one second radio link, respectively, wherein the relay resource manager in each individual moving relay comprises a radio resource manager; and functionality for exchanging information with relay resource managers is included in moving relays other than the individual moving relay.

REFERENCE TO CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS

Priority is claimed from:

U.S. Patent Application No. 61/451,166 “Cellular communication systemutilizing upgraded moving relays” filed 10 Mar. 2011; and

Israel Patent Application No. 218046, “A multi-directional relayarchitecture and apparatus and methods of operation useful inconjunction therewith”, filed 12 Feb. 2012.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to architecture and data transmission methodsfor use in hierarchal cellular networks.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Multi-layer hierarchical dynamic cellular networks pose difficulties fortraffic flow and management.

A classical cellular network includes or consists of a core segment andRadio Access Network (RAN). The Radio Access Network (RAN) is comprisedof base stations (BS) and mobile stations (MS). Each of the mobilestations is typically connected to one of the Base Stations (FIG. 2).

A hierarchal cellular network (FIG. 1a ) is comprised of a classicalcellular network, however the Radio Access Network (RAN) segment enablesdirect connection between base stations so that one base station iscapable of relaying the traffic of the other base station to the coresegment or to other base stations in a higher layer, which are connectedto the core segment.

Multi-layer hierarchical dynamic cellular networks pose difficulties fortraffic flow and management (e.g. the multi protocol-layers handling).These difficulties may occur since the base LTE protocols and coreelements do not support this type of network topology.

The disclosures of all publications and patent documents mentioned inthe specification, and of the publications and patent documents citedtherein directly or indirectly, are hereby incorporated by reference.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Certain embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter seek toprovide a cellular communication system utilizing upgraded movingrelays.

Certain embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a way toenlarge backhauling bandwidth capacity by using a number of mobilestation functionalities as backhauling devices.

Certain embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a way toenlarge the number of backhauling bearers by using a number of mobilestation functionalities as backhauling devices.

Certain embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a way toimprove data diversity by sending data in multiple paths using a numberof mobile station functionalities as backhauling devices.

Certain embodiments of the present invention seek to provide way toinitialize handover by using several UEs as backhauling devices.

Certain embodiments of the present invention relate to a relay stationthat comprises a standard base station and several mobile handsets thatserve as mobile backhauling links.

In accordance with an aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter,there is provided a moving cellular communication system comprising atleast one upgraded moving relay including at least two base stationfunctionalities and/or at least two mobile station functionalities and aradio manager, all co-located, wherein each base station functionalityfrom among the at least two base station functionalities of the upgradedmoving relay is operative to communicate via antennae with at least onemobile station thereby to define a first radio link therebetween, andwherein each base station functionality has a connection to itsco-located radio manager, wherein each mobile station functionality fromamong the at least two mobile station functionalities of the upgradedmoving relay communicates via antennae with a unit which has basestation functionality thereby to define second radio links,respectively, wherein the radio manager in each individual moving relaycomprises a radio resource manager; and functionality for exchanginginformation with radio managers is included in moving relays other thanthe individual moving relay.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is further provided a system, wherein at least two of thesecond radio links communicate with units having base stationfunctionality, located in different geographic locations.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein the networkutilizing bearers serve for conveying communication from a mobilestation through a communication route to the core of the cellularcommunication system, and wherein the upgraded moving relays support alarger number of bearers compared to a moving relay having one basestation functionality and one mobile station functionality, whileutilizing the at least two mobile station functionalities.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein the at least twomobile station functionalities operate substantially simultaneously.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein the at least twobase station functionalities operate substantially simultaneously.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein the unit whichhas a base station functionality is a base station.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein the unit whichhas a base station functionality forms part of a moving relay.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein the unit whichhas a base station functionality forms part of the upgraded movingrelay.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein the networkfurther comprises at least one moving relay having one base stationfunctionality and one mobile station functionality.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein at least two ofthe second radio links of an upgraded moving relay communicatesubstantially identical data.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein at least two ofthe second radio links of an upgraded moving relay communicatesubstantially identical data.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein at least one ofthe second radio links serves for communicating control data and atleast the other of the second radio links serves for communicating userdata.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein at least one ofthe mobile station functionalities within an upgraded moving relayserves as a backup to other mobile station functionality of the sameupgraded moving relay, and the radio manager is operative to switchcommunication from the other mobile station functionality to the backupmobile station functionality in response to meeting a mobile stationhandover criterion.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein at least one ofthe base station functionalities within an upgraded moving relay servesas a backup to other base station functionalities of the same upgradedmoving relay, and the radio manager is operative to seamlessly switchcommunication from the other base station functionality to the backupbase station functionality in response to meeting a base stationhandover criterion.

The subject matter of the invention further contemplates a counterpartmethod and corresponding embodiments, mutatis mutandis.

Certain embodiments of the present invention relate to a relay stationthat comprises a standard base station and several mobile handsets thatserve as a mobile backhauling link.

The following terms may be construed either in accordance with anydefinition thereof appearing in the prior art literature or inaccordance with the specification, or as follows:

access link: a bi-directional link between a relay node (RN) basestation functionality and a mobile station (MS) served thereby orbetween a base station and a mobile station served thereby. It typicallyhas an uplink portion and a downlink portion, both uni-directional.

Backhaul data: data being transferred, typically bi-directionally, overat least one backhauling link.

Backhauling link: bi-directional link other than an access link e.g.link between relays in adjacent levels or link between relay and staticbase station or link between relays and relay proxy or link between basestation functionality or static base station or relay proxy and core.More generally, a backhauling link bi-directionally links distributedsites to each other or links access points e.g. base stations and a morecentralized point e.g. a core. Typically a backhauling link has anuplink portion and a downlink portion, both uni-directional.

base station: one of a plurality of stationary or mobile nodes in acellular communication network which are sufficiently denselydistributed over a served area such that almost all mobile communicationdevices served by the network can almost always communicate with oneanother or with a terrestrial network through those nodes, typicallyincluding allowing users of such devices to converse and/or exchangedigital information between them or with a terrestrial network, viacommunication paths defined between respective pairs of base stationsand mobile communication devices.

base station functionality: functionality, typically softwareimplemented, residing on a relay which communicates with an antenna,transmitter and receiver to enable the relay to function as a basestation, e.g. to converse and/or exchange digital information betweenthem or with a terrestrial network, via communication paths definedbetween respective pairs of base stations and mobile communicationdevices.

bi-directional link: a link between levels of a hierarchicalcommunication network which includes both an uplink and a downlink.cell: base station.

core: server in a cellular communication system that: (1) connectsbetween MSs that are attached to the same core; and/or (2) connectsbetween MSs that are attached to one core with MSs that are attached toa different core; and/or (3) connects MSs attached to the core to otherservers such as an Internet server, terrestrial communication networkservers, video servers, gaming servers (not shown).

Core Network: synonym for “core” or core plus network linked thereto.

Ctrl: e.g. as per LTE protocol.

donor: serving relationship e.g. a base station serving e.g. a relaynode.

Downlink (DL): a uni-directional portion of a link e.g. backhauling oraccess link from a relay's base station functionality or static basestation to a mobile station functionality or mobile station. DL UE orDownlink (DL) UE: downlink to a user entity via a sequence of at leastone relay e.g. as shown in FIG. 3.

down-stream (DS): flow of data from a higher point at the topology(closer to the core) to a lower point at the topology (further from thecore).

eNB: base station, or base station functionality e.g. in a relay, whichuses LTE protocol. Also termed herein “LTE base station”.

GTP: a group of IP-based communications protocols used to carry GeneralPacket Radio Service (GPRS) within GSM, UMTS and LTE networks.

GTP bearer: A bearer using a GTP protocol.

GTP tunnel: A tunnel using a GTP protocol.

Link: Telecommunications or radio link between nodes of a communicationnetwork. It is appreciated that a portion, typically uni-directional, ofa typically bi-directional link is also sometimes termed a link. Theremay be one or more channels in a link, e.g. in LTE all the followingchannels are uplinks: PUCCH, PUSCH, PRACH.

MBSFN: A non-limiting example of a Downlink (DL)-only transmissionprotocol. According to Wikipedia, Multicast-Broadcast Single FrequencyNetwork is a communication channel defined in LTE, the fourth-generationcellular networking standard, which may deliver services such as mobileTV using the LTE infrastructure. This enables network operators to offermobile TV without the need for additional costly licensed spectrum andwithout requiring new infrastructure and end-user devices. There is noknown commercial deployment of MBSFN.

According to Wikipedia, LTE's Enhanced Multimedia Broadcast MulticastServices (E-MBMS) provide transport features for sending the samecontent information to all the users in a cell (broadcast) or to a givenset of users (subscribers) in a cell (multicast). In contrast, IP-levelbroadcast or multicast offer no sharing of resources on the radio accesslevel. In E-MBMS it is possible to either use a single eNode-B ormultiple eNode-Bs for transmission to multiple LTE mobile station (UE)s.MBSFN is the definition for the latter option.

According to Wikipedia, MBSFN is a transmission mode which exploitsLTE's OFDM radio interface to send multicast or broadcast data as amulticell transmission over a synchronized single-frequency network(SFN). The transmissions from the multiple cells are sufficientlytightly synchronized for each to arrive at the LTE mobile station (UE)within the OFDM Cyclic Prefix (CP) so as to avoid Inter-SymbolInterference (ISI). In effect, this makes the MBSFN transmission appearto a LTE mobile station (UE) as a transmission from a single large cell,dramatically increasing the Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SIR) due tothe absence of inter-cell interference [4].

MBMS: Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service including some or all ofthe technology described in 3GPP TS 25.346.

mobile station or mobile communication device: a portable electronicdevice which communicates with other such devices or with a terrestrialnetwork via a cellular communication network, typically includingallowing users of such devices to converse and/or exchange digitalinformation between them. The device may even comprise a dongleconnected to a computer or sensor with no user nearby.

mobile station functionality: functionality, typically softwareimplemented, residing on a relay which communicates with an antenna,transmitter and receiver to enable the relay or to function as a mobilecommunication device.

mobile station functionality: functionality, typically softwareimplemented, residing on a relay or inverse relay (iRelay) Proxy whichcommunicates with an antenna, transmitter and receiver to enable therelay or inverse relay (iRelay) Proxy to function as a mobilecommunication device. The mobile station functionality typicallyincludes antenna, RF front-end, Modem (communications processor) butdoes not necessarily include an application processor nor appliancessuch as keyboard, screen, microphone, and speaker which serve aconventional mobile station.

Radio bearer, bearer: e.g. as per 3GPP terminology.

RE resource block: e.g. as per LTE standard or an adaptation thereofsuitable for operation within communication standards other than LTE.

relay: a node in the cellular communication network equipped with anantenna, transmitter and receiver and functioning both as a mobilecommunication device and a base station and extending the coverage ofthe base-stations.

Relay link: link or radio segment between a relay node and a donor basestation.

Segment: link.

Subframe: e.g. as per LTE protocol

Trans. Downlink (DL) backhauling: transmit backhauling using downlink.

Tunnel: as per protocols that enables tunneling such as but not limitedto GRE and GPRS.

UE: user entity or mobile station or mobile communication device ormobile station functionality. e.g. in a relay, which uses LTE protocol.Also termed herein “LTE mobile station”.

Uplink (UL): a uni-directional portion of a pair of links e.g. ofbackhauling or access links, from a relay's mobile station functionalityor mobile device to a relay's base station functionality or static basestation.

Uplink backhaul data: data being transferred uni-directionally, overonly the uplink portion of at least one backhauling link, typically froma base station to a core or more generally from an access point to amore centralized point.

upstream (US): flow of data from a lower point in a network topology(i.e. further from the core) to a higher point in a network topology(i.e. closer to the core).

In accordance with an aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter,there is provided a moving cellular communication system comprising atleast one upgraded moving relay including at least two base stationfunctionalities and at least one mobile station functionality and aradio manager, all co-located, wherein each base station functionalityfrom among the at least two base station functionalities of the upgradedmoving relay is operative to communicate via antennae with at least onemobile station thereby to define a first radio link therebetween, andwherein each base station functionality has a connection to itsco-located radio manager, wherein each mobile station functionality ofthe upgraded moving relay communicates via antennae with a unit whichhas base station functionality thereby to define at least one secondradio link, respectively, wherein the radio manager in each individualmoving relay comprises a radio resource manager, and functionality forexchanging information with radio managers is included in moving relaysother than the individual moving relay.

In accordance with an aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter,there is further provided a moving cellular communication systemcomprising:

at least one upgraded moving relay including at least one base stationfunctionality andat least two mobile station functionalities and a radio manager, allco-located, wherein each base station functionality of the upgradedmoving relay is operative to communicate via antennae with at least onemobile station thereby to define at least one first radio linktherebetween,and wherein each base station functionality has a connection to itsco-located radio manager, wherein each mobile station functionality fromamong the at least two mobile station functionalities of the upgradedmoving relay communicates via antennae with a unit which has basestation functionality thereby to define at least two second radio links,respectively, wherein the radio manager in each individual moving relaycomprises a radio resource manager, and functionality for exchanginginformation with radio managers is included in moving relays other thanthe individual moving relay.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a moving cellular communication system whereinthe at least one mobile station functionality includes at least twomobile station functionalities co-located with the base stationfunctionalities and radio manager; wherein each mobile stationfunctionality from among the at least two mobile station functionalitiesof the upgraded moving relay communicates via antennae with a unit whichhas base station functionality thereby to define at least two secondradio links, respectively.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system wherein the at least twomobile station functionalities operate substantially simultaneously.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system wherein the at least twobase station functionalities operate substantially simultaneously.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein the unit whichhas a base station functionality being a base station.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein the unit whichhas a base station functionality forms part of a moving relay.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein the unit whichhas a base station functionality forms part of upgraded moving relay.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein the networkfurther comprising at least one moving relay having one base stationfunctionality and one mobile station functionality.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein at least two ofthe second radio links communicate with units having base stationfunctionality, located in different geographic locations.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein at least two ofthe second radio links of an upgraded moving relay communicatesubstantially identical data.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein at least one ofthe second radio links serves for communicating control data and atleast other of the second radio links serves for communicating userdata.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein at least one ofthe mobile station functionalities within an upgraded moving relayserves as a backup to other mobile station functionality of the sameupgraded moving relay, and the radio manager is operative to switchcommunication from the other mobile station functionality to the backupmobile station functionality in response to meeting a mobile stationhandover criterion.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein at least one ofthe base station functionalities within an upgraded moving relay servesas a backup to other base station functionality of the same upgradedmoving relay, and the radio manager is operative to seamlessly switchcommunication from the other base station functionality to the backupbase station functionality in response to meeting a base stationhandover criterion.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein the networkutilizing bearers serve for conveying communication from a mobilestation through a communication route to the core of the cellularcommunication system, and wherein the upgraded moving relays supportinglarger number of bearers compared to a moving relay have one basestation functionality and one mobile station functionality, whileutilizing the at least two mobile station functionalities.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a system, wherein at least two ofthe second radio links of an upgraded moving relay communicatesubstantially identical data.

In accordance with an aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter,there is yet further provided a method for providing moving cellularcommunication, the method comprising providing at least one upgradedmoving relay including at least two base station functionalities and atleast one mobile station functionality and a radio manager, allco-located, wherein each base station functionality from among the atleast two base station functionalities of the upgraded moving relay isoperative to communicate via antennae with at least one mobile stationthereby to define a first radio link therebetween, and wherein each basestation functionality has a connection to its co-located radio manager,wherein each mobile station functionality of the upgraded moving relaycommunicates via antennae with a unit which has base stationfunctionality thereby to define at least one second radio link,respectively, wherein providing the radio manager in each individualmoving relay comprises providing a radio resource manager; and providingfunctionality for exchanging information with radio managers included inmoving relays other than the individual moving relay.

In accordance with an aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter,there is yet further provided a method for providing moving cellularcommunication, the method comprising providing at least one upgradedmoving relay including at least one base station functionality and atleast two mobile station functionalities and a radio manager, allco-located, wherein each base station functionality of the upgradedmoving relay is operative to communicate via antennae with at least onemobile station thereby to define at least one first radio linktherebetween, and wherein each base station functionality has aconnection to its co-located radio manager, wherein each mobile stationfunctionality from among the at least two mobile station functionalitiesof the upgraded moving relay communicates via antennae with a unit whichhas base station functionality thereby to define at least two secondradio links, respectively, wherein providing the radio manager in eachindividual moving relay comprises providing a radio resource manager;and providing functionality for exchanging information with radiomanagers included in moving relays other than the individual movingrelay.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method wherein the at least onemobile station functionality includes at least two mobile stationfunctionalities co-located with the base station functionalities andradio manager; wherein each mobile station functionality from among theat least two mobile station functionalities of the upgraded moving relaycommunicates via antennae with a unit which has base stationfunctionality thereby to define at least two second radio links,respectively.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method and also comprisingeffecting dynamic cell setup without interrupting service to mobilestations served by the base station functionalities by initiating afirst hand-over between a first of the two base station functionalitiesto a second thereof; effecting the dynamic cell setup on the first basestation functionality, then initiating a second hand-over between thesecond of the two base station functionalities to the first thereof andeffecting the dynamic cell setup on the second base stationfunctionality.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method comprising supportingcellular communication over a many-to-one topology.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method comprising using the twomobile station functionalities to support cellular communication over amany-to-many topology.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method comprising using the twomobile station functionalities to perform at least one backhaulingoperation at a data rate which exceeds a data rate of a backhaulingoperation performed using only one of the two mobile stationfunctionalities.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method comprising using the twomobile station functionalities to provide a larger number of bearersthan would be available if cellular communication were supported by onlyone of the two mobile station functionalities.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method comprising using the twomobile station functionalities to provide hot redundancy.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method wherein the hotredundancy comprises sending data a plurality of times rather than onlyonce.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method comprising using the twomobile station functionalities to provide a plurality of alternateroutes between mobile stations served by the at least one base stationfunctionality, and a core of a cellular network to which the movingrelay belongs.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method comprising using the atleast two base station functionalities to provide a bandwidth to a setof mobile base station served by the at least two base stationfunctionalities, that is wider than would be possible if the same set ofmobile base stations were to be served by only one of the at least twobase station functionalities.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method wherein the first andsecond base station functionalities operate at first and second outputpowers respectively and wherein initiating the first hand-over comprisesreducing the first output power of the first base station functionalityto a reduced first output power level far enough below the second outputpower of the second base station functionality, to trigger hand-overfrom the first base station functionality to the second base stationfunctionality.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method wherein initiating thesecond hand-over comprises reducing a current level of the second outputpower of the second base station functionality to a reduced secondoutput power level far enough below a current level of the first outputpower of the first base station functionality, to trigger hand-over fromthe second base station functionality back to the first base stationfunctionality.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method comprising providing afirst set-up, suited to a first subset of a population of mobilestations served by the at least two base station functionalities, for afirst base station functionality of the at least two base stationfunctionalities; providing a second set-up, which is suited to mobilestations not belonging to the first subset and which differs from thefirst set-up, for a second base station functionality of the at leasttwo base station functionalities; using the first base stationfunctionality to serve mobile stations in the first subset; and usingthe second base station functionality to serve mobile stations in thesecond subset.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method wherein the first subsetcomprises mobile stations requiring a particularly low latency.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method wherein the dynamic cellsetup comprises providing a new value to a main set-up frequencyparameter.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method wherein the dynamic cellsetup comprises providing a new value to a cell bandwidth parameter.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method wherein the dynamic cellsetup comprises providing a new value to a frame timing parameter.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a method wherein the dynamic cellsetup comprises providing a new value to a master information block(MIB) parameter.

In accordance with an embodiment of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is yet further provided a computer program product,comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium having a computerreadable program code embodied therein, the computer readable programcode adapted to be executed to implement any of the methods shown anddescribed herein.

Also provided is a computer program comprising computer program codemeans for performing any of the methods shown and described herein whensaid program is run on a computer; and a computer program product,comprising a typically non-transitory computer-usable or -readablemedium or computer readable storage medium, typically tangible, having acomputer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readableprogram code adapted to be executed to implement any or all of themethods shown and described herein. It is appreciated that any or all ofthe computational steps shown and described herein may becomputer-implemented. The operations in accordance with the teachingsherein may be performed by a computer specially constructed for thedesired purposes or by a general purpose computer specially configuredfor the desired purpose by a computer program stored in a typicallynon-transitory computer readable storage medium.

Any suitable processor, display and input means may be used to process,display e.g. on a computer screen or other computer output device,store, and accept information such as information used by or generatedby any of the methods and apparatus shown and described herein; theabove processor, display and input means including computer programs, inaccordance with some or all of the embodiments of the present invention.Any or all functionalities of the invention shown and described herein,such as but not limited to steps of flowcharts, may be performed by aconventional personal computer processor, workstation or otherprogrammable device or computer or electronic computing device orprocessor, either general-purpose or specifically constructed, used forprocessing; a computer display screen and/or printer and/or speaker fordisplaying; machine-readable memory such as optical disks, CDROMs,magnetic-optical discs or other discs; RAMs, ROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs,magnetic or optical or other cards, for storing, and keyboard or mousefor accepting. The term “process” as used above is intended to includeany type of computation or manipulation or transformation of datarepresented as physical, e.g. electronic, phenomena which may occur orreside e.g. within registers and/or memories of a computer or processor.The term processor includes a single processing unit or a plurality ofdistributed or remote such units.

The above devices may communicate via any conventional wired or wirelessdigital communication means, e.g. via a wired or cellular telephonenetwork or a computer network such as the Internet.

The apparatus of the present invention may include, according to certainembodiments of the invention, machine readable memory containing orotherwise storing a program of instructions which, when executed by themachine, implements some or all of the apparatus, methods, features andfunctionalities of the invention shown and described herein.Alternatively or in addition, the apparatus of the present invention mayinclude, according to certain embodiments of the invention, a program asabove which may be written in any conventional programming language, andoptionally a machine for executing the program such as but not limitedto a general purpose computer which may optionally be configured oractivated in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. Anyof the teachings incorporated herein may wherever suitable operate onsignals representative of physical objects or substances.

The embodiments referred to above, and other embodiments, are describedin detail in the next section.

Any trademark occurring in the text or drawings is the property of itsowner and occurs herein merely to explain or illustrate one example ofhow an embodiment of the invention may be implemented.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the followingdiscussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specificationdiscussions, utilizing terms such as, “processing”, “computing”,“estimating”, “selecting”, “ranking” ′, “grading”, “calculating”,“determining”, “generating”, “reassessing”, “classifying” ′,“generating”, “producing”, “stereo-matching”, “registering”,“detecting”, “associating”, “superimposing”, “obtaining” or the like,refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system,or processor or similar electronic computing device, that manipulateand/or transform data represented as physical, such as electronic,quantities within the computing system's registers and/or memories, intoother data similarly represented as physical quantities within thecomputing system's memories, registers or other such informationstorage, transmission or display devices. The term “computer” should bebroadly construed to cover any kind of electronic device with dataprocessing capabilities, including, by way of non-limiting example,personal computers, servers, computing system, communication devices,processors (e.g. digital signal processor (DSP), microcontrollers, fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), etc.) and other electronic computing devices.

The present invention may be described, merely for clarity, in terms ofterminology specific to particular programming languages, operatingsystems, browsers, system versions, individual products, and the like.It will be appreciated that this terminology is intended to conveygeneral principles of operation clearly and briefly, by way of example,and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to anyparticular programming language, operating system, browser, systemversion, or individual product.

Elements separately listed herein need not be distinct components andalternatively may be the same structure.

Any suitable input device, such as but not limited to a sensor, may beused to generate or otherwise provide information received by theapparatus and methods shown and described herein. Any suitable outputdevice or display may be used to display or output information generatedby the apparatus and methods shown and described herein. Any suitableprocessor may be employed to compute or generate information asdescribed herein e.g. by providing one or more modules in the processorto perform functionalities described herein. Any suitable computerizeddata storage e.g. computer memory may be used to store informationreceived by or generated by the systems shown and described herein.Functionalities shown and described herein may be divided between aserver computer and a plurality of client computers. These or any othercomputerized components shown and described herein may communicatebetween themselves via a suitable computer network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in thefollowing drawings:

FIG. 1a illustrates a prior art multi-layer cellular network comprisinga core network regular radio access network and a relayed radio accessnetwork;

FIG. 1b is a semi-pictorial semi-block diagram illustration of anupgraded moving relay with multiple (two, in the illustrated embodiment)mobile station functionalities and multiple (two, in the illustratedembodiment) base station functionalities, where the term “upgradedmoving relay” is used herein to refer to a moving relay having more thanone base station functionality and/or more than one moving stationfunctionality;

FIG. 2 is a general architecture of network using several upgradedmoving relays, all according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts use of multiple mobile station functionalities in anupgraded moving relay in order to increase bandwidth and/or to increasethe number of available bearers or as an alternate “hot” route, allaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts usage of a secondary or additional base stationfunctionality in order to effect “hot” configuration change in the BaseStation functionality using a handover mechanism between a first andsecond e.g. primary and secondary relay Base Station, all according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 depicts the usage of a secondary base station functionality inorder to enlarge total throughput of the relay mobile node (movingrelay), all according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 depicts the limitation of maximal bandwidth by the minimalavailable bandwidth of a radio link along the path to the core, allaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 depicts the usage of an upgraded relay node in order to generatean alternative radio link path to the core by switching to an additionale.g. secondary mobile station functionality, all according to anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 illustrates an example dynamic cell-setup procedure using, by wayof example, two relay base stations (rBSs), all according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9a is a simplified block diagram of a relay resource manager (rRM)of a relay according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9b is a simplified block diagram of a relay resource manager (rRM)[742] of an upgraded (multi-element) moving relay according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a simplified block diagram of a relay resource manager (rRM)of a relay that includes Stand-alone subsystem, according to anembodiment of the present invention. This subsystem can be added to theupgraded moving relay in order to enable it to operate in an emergencymode.

FIG. 11 is a simplified block diagram of a relay resource manager (rRM)of a relay having an internal router service application for multi-hopencapsulation. This router service application can be added to theupgraded relay to enable it to do extended tunnels for multi-hopencapsulation.

Computational components described and illustrated herein can beimplemented in various forms, for example, as hardware circuits such asbut not limited to custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays or programmablehardware devices such as but not limited to FPGAs, or as softwareprogram code stored on at least one intangible computer readable mediumand executable by at least one processor, or any suitable combinationthereof. A specific functional component may be formed by one particularsequence of software code, or by a plurality of such, which collectivelyact or behave or act as described herein with reference to thefunctional component in question. For example, the component may bedistributed over several code sequences such as but not limited toobjects, procedures, functions, routines and programs and may originatefrom several computer files which typically operate synergistically.

Data can be stored on one or more intangible computer readable mediastored at one or more different locations, different network nodes ordifferent storage devices at a single node or location.

It is appreciated that any computer data storage technology, includingany type of storage or memory and any type of computer components andrecording media that retain digital data used for computing for aninterval of time, and any type of information retention technology, maybe used to store the various data provided and employed herein. Suitablecomputer data storage or information retention apparatus may includeapparatus which is primary, secondary, tertiary or off-line; which is ofany type or level or amount or category of volatility, differentiation,mutability, accessibility, addressability, capacity, performance andenergy use; and which is based on any suitable technologies such assemiconductor, magnetic, optical, paper and others.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

Architecture and methods operative to facilitate transfer of control andtraffic information between each one of the mobile stations, through anyhierarchical cellular topology to any destination e.g. a mobile stationin the same network or any destination outside the network, are nowdescribed with reference to FIGS. 1a -8. A solution for the 4G 3GPPcellular network, also known as LTE (Long Term Evolution) is presentedherein, but the same principles, mutatis mutandis, may be applied to anyhierarchical cellular network.

In an existing LTE cellular network each mobile station is typicallyidentified by its own IP. A packet that is addressed to a mobile stationis being routed through an IP connectivity gateway termed P\S-GW using aGTP tunnel to the base station and from there to the mobile station e.g.cellular telephone.

In hierarchical cellular networks e.g. an IP based cellular systemutilizing extended tunnels such as TS 36.806, the packet is routedthrough several tunnels and is routed to the addressed mobile station.

Hierarchical cellular networks e.g. TS 36.806 typically suffer frombackhauling bottleneck issues; certain embodiments seek to reduce these.For example:

Moving relays may be limited by the number of bearers they are able tocreate. The number of bearers that a moving relay is able to provide islimited by the number of bearers that a mobile station functionality isable to create. The number of bearers that a mobile stationfunctionality is able to create may be increased by using several mobilestation functionality devices in the moving relay.

Different mobile stations that are connected to the same moving relaymay be served by different mobile station functionalities. The movingrelay may give different priorities to different mobile stations byusing different bearers with different prioritizations that areallocated to the same mobile station functionality. For example, in FIG.3, the maximal bearer count available for each mobile station is 5.Mobile Station 5, Mobile Station 3, and Mobile Station 2 each use 2bearers. In this example it may be impossible to send all 6 bearersthrough a single mobile station functionality (mobile stationfunctionality rMS 2.1). In order to relay all 6 user bearers, it ispossible to use an additional mobile station functionality (mobilestation functionality rMS 2.2) which adds 5 additional bearers, whichenables relaying all 6 user bearers. In the example, mobile stationfunctionality rMS 2.1 relays 2 bearers of Mobile Station 5, using basestation functionality rBS 1.2 as a base station functionality and mobilestation functionality rMS 1.2 as a mobile station functionality. Mobilestation functionality rMS 2.2 relays the remaining 4 bearers using basestation functionality rBS 3.1 and mobile station functionality rMS 3.1.

The maximal bandwidth is typically limited by the minimal availablebandwidth of a radio link along the path to core. For example, FIG. 6shows that the maximal total available bandwidth to the mobile stationsthat is linked to mobile station functionality rMS 2 is limited by thelowest radio link available bandwidth, e.g. the minimum of the bandwidthof radio link “a” or “l”. The moving relay may use an additional mobilestation functionality in order to enlarge the over-all bandwidth byconnecting each mobile station functionality to a different base stationfunctionality and using different paths of linked relay to the core. Forexample, in FIG. 3, the maximal bandwidth available for mobile stationfunctionality is 5 MHz. The maximal available bandwidth for thestationary base station (30) is 20 MHz. Using a single mobile stationfunctionality (also termed herein “rMobile-station”) and a single basestation functionality (also termed herein “base station functionalityrBS”) the available throughput of mobile station functionality rMS 1 andmobile station functionality rMS 3 is 5 MHz due to the limitation of 5MHz of the mobile station functionality.

Mobile station functionality rMS 2 is distant from the stationary basestation and is relayed by either mobile station functionality rMS 3 ormobile station functionality rMS 1. Using a single base stationfunctionality and a single mobile station functionality mobile stationfunctionality rMS 2 shares bandwidth resources with either MobileStation 4 or Mobile Station 1 and its available throughput is less than5 MHz. But using an additional mobile station functionality in mobilestation functionality rMS 2 (e.g. both mobile station functionality rMS2.1 and mobile station functionality rMS 2.2) enables sharing theavailable bandwidth of both mobile station functionality rMS 1 andmobile station functionality rMS 3 e.g. by connecting mobile stationfunctionality rMS 2.1 to mobile station functionality rMS 1, and mobilestation functionality rMS 2.2 to mobile station functionality rMS 3.

If, for example Mobile Station 1 is using 2 MHz and Mobile Station 4 isusing 2 MHz, this enables a backhauling capacity of 6 MHz and totalthroughput of 5 Mhz due to the limitation of 5 MHz per mobile stationfunctionality. But adding another base station functionality in themoving relay enables serving the users with bandwidth of 10 Mhz, e.g. byserving some of the mobile stations using the first base stationfunctionality and the remaining mobile stations with the other basestation functionality. For example, as depicted in FIG. 5, MobileStation 2 and Mobile Station 5 are served by base station functionalityrBS 2.1. Mobile Station 3 and Mobile Station 1 are served by basestation functionality rBS 2.2. Connecting mobile station functionalityrMS 2.1 to base station functionality rBS 1.2 and mobile stationfunctionality rMS 2.2 to base station functionality rBS 3.2 yields atotal 10 MHz bandwidth in the mobile station functionality rMS 2.

Additionally tunnels in a hierarchical dynamic cellular system maysuffer from high packet loss rate. This may be due to the dynamic natureof the system and/or the high probability of a lost connection. Theprobability of a packet being lost may be decreased by using severalmobile station functionalities using different radio links to the coreeach, optionally subsequently, sending identical data. A server thatreceives the duplicated packets may be operative to ignore theduplicated packets. Alternatively the duplicated packets may be filteredby a dedicated server. Alternatively the duplicated packets may befiltered by the p-gw. For example as depicted in. FIG. 5, Mobile Station5, Mobile Station 1, Mobile Station 3 and Mobile Station 2 use mobilestation functionality rMS 2 to communicate with the core. In order todecrease the chance of a packet being lost, relay resource manager rRM2sends the same data (a) through mobile station functionality rMS 2.1using radio link “1” to mobile station functionality rMS 1 and (b)through mobile station functionality rMS 2.2 using radio link “k” tomobile station functionality rMS 3. from there mobile stationfunctionality rMS 3 communication data is sent to the core using link“d” and from mobile station functionality rMS 1 communication data issent through radio links “a” and “b”.

In many conventional systems, the handover mechanism in the LTE cellularnetwork works as follows: a base station functionality (eNB in LTE)collects link measurements of the mobile station (UE in LTE), andcollects the link quality of neighboring base station functionality(neighboring eNB) as sensed by the mobile station (UE). When the basestation (eNB) senses that the link quality has fallen below a thresholdand one of the neighboring links' quality is better, the base stationinitiates a hand-over request.

The request goes directly to the neighboring base station or through thecore using the mobility management entity at the LTE core. When theneighbor base station acknowledges the hand-over request, the basestation sends a hand-over command to the mobile station. An alternativepath to the core may be generated using moving relay nodes and utilizinga suitable hand-over mechanism. An alternating method for switching toan alternative route may employ an upgraded relay node by switchingcommunication from a mobile station functionality to a backup mobilestation functionality. The backup mobile station may use an alternateradio link route. For example as depicted in FIG. 7, mobile stationfunctionality rMS 2 uses radio link “k” in order to communicate with thecore and radio link “l” as a backup radio link in order to give serviceto Mobile Station 3 and Mobile Station 5. Upon a triggered event, forexample a detected radio link quality decline in radio link “k”, mobilestation functionality rMS 2 may switch communication and use “l” as abackhauling radio link. In an upgraded moving relay as shown anddescribed herein, a handover mechanism may be used in order to“transparently” (to mobile stations served by the moving relay)temporarily shut down one of the base station functionalities whichresides in the moving relay. For example, as depicted in FIG. 4, MobileStation 5 and Mobile Station 3 are linked to base station functionalityrBS 2.1. At some time relay resource manager rRM2 desires to temporarilyshut down base station functionality rBS 2.1 e.g. for maintenance. Relayresource manager rRM2 commands base station functionality rBS 2.1 tolower its transmission power and increase its minimum receivedthreshold. On the other hand, relay resource manager rRM2 may commandbase station functionality rBS 2.2 to decrease its minimum receivedthreshold, say to the minimum received threshold that was used by basestation functionality rBS 2.1 and to increase base station functionalityrBS 2.2's transmission power, say to the transmission power that wasused by base station functionality rBS 2.1. These changes may trigger anormal handover mechanism, resulting in a handover from base stationfunctionality rBS 2.1 to base station functionality rBS 2.2 of MobileStation 5 and Mobile Station 3.

FIG. 8 is an example of a dynamic cell-setup procedure using multiplee.g. two relay base stations (base station functionalities rBSs). Therelay has, in the illustrated example, two relay base stations, rBS1.1and rBS 1.2. The mobile stations connected to the relay use rBS1.1. Inthis example, the relay uses the secondary [rBS1.2] base station inorder to change cell parameters and/or timing parameters.

Mobile station MS5 is connected to the core using mobile stationfunctionality rMS1.1 (for backhauling link) through its serving relaybase station rBS1.1. In the event that relay resource manager rRM1 wantsto change its corresponding rBS's (base station functionality)parameters (e.g. one or more of: frame timing parameters, cell centerfrequency, cell bandwidth, PLMN identity, MIMO configuration, or anyother static cell parameter), relay resource manager rRM1 may set thesecondary base station functionality rBS1.2 to the desired cellconfiguration (setup of its parameters) and handover all the mobilestations that are connected to base station functionality rBS1.1 to basestation functionality rBS1.2, e.g. by lowering the transmission power ofbase station functionality rBS1.1 and increasing the transmission powerof base station functionality rBS1.2 in order for the mobile stations tobe able to receive the reference signal of both base stations and beable to handover to the second base station (rBS1.2). In the examplemobile station MS5 is connected to base station functionality rBS1.1using link “a”. The relay resource manager rRM1 may change its relay rBS(base station functionality) timing parameters, shifting the basestation functionality's time frame e.g. by one TTI (1 millisecond) orseveral, such as 2-9 TTIs or less than a single TTI (e.g. a fraction of1 millisecond) and in addition change the base station functionality'scell bandwidth for example from 10 MHz to 20 MHz (or to any bandwidthwithin the standard definitions such as, but not limited to: 1.4 MHz, 3MHz, 5 MHz). This may be effected, e.g., by (optionally powering on) andsetting up base station functionality rBS1.2 to the desiredconfiguration and performing handover of mobile station MS5 to basestation functionality rBS1.2 using link “b”. Afterwards relay resourcemanager rRM1 may optionally, e.g. depending on predetermined turning-offcriteria, turn off rBS1.1 in order to save power or decreaseinterference to base station functionality rBS1.2 or to any other nearbybase station.

FIG. 9a describes detailed block diagram of relay resource manager (rRM)of relay. As shown, the relay resource manager comprises some or all of:a Tunneling subsystem [713], Radio Resource subsystem [714] Virtual coresubsystem [715] and Routing and QoS Subsystem [728], suitably couplede.g. as shown.

The tunneling subsystem is operative for encapsulating andde-capsulating of user plane and control plane payloads over user planebearers according to different priorities and sending the de-capsulateduser plane and control plane payloads to entities in the core such asbut not limited to any of: mobility management entity e.g. MME,gateways, and application servers. The tunneling subsystem typicallyinterfaces [703, 704] with the mobile station functionality rUE [741]e.g. over a standard IP stack.

The Virtual core subsystem typically constitutes the gateway between thecore (stationary) on the one hand, and various resource managementsubsystems and the base station functionality rBS [740] on the otherhand. The Virtual core subsystem may communicate with the base stationfunctionality rBS [740] or core (of the static network) e.g. usingstandard S1-MME [702,708 b,709,710] and S1-U [701,707 b,709,710] orproprietary management and control (M&C) over IP interface [701,707b,709,710] with the base station functionality rBS [740] and remotecore. The Virtual core subsystem may send all or any of the S1-MME M&Cmessages to the core optionally through the Tunneling Subsystem [713].

The Encapsulation manager function of the Virtual core subsystem [715]implements a Network event listener e.g. as illustrated in FIG. 6 atreference numeral 1304 and a Network event handler e.g. as illustratedin FIG. 6 at reference numeral 1305]. The handler may use deep packetinspection techniques in order to maintain suitable statistics (such asbut not limited to any or all of: all active bearers including sourceand destination addresses, ports, and priorities) The handler may alsoraise events (for example in case of a disconnection from the core). Theencapsulation manager is also operative for handling (send/receive)different messages that are sent/received [712] by the Routing and QoSSubsystem to/from the core being used, for example messages to create ordelete a bearer.

In addition, the Encapsulation manager function of the Virtual coresubsystem [715] may optionally include functionality for exchanginginformation between the relay resource manager rRM that the Virtual coresubsystem resides within [742] and: (1) another relay resource managerlocated inside another relay, and/or (2) Relay/s Server located as partof the static network. The Virtual S-GW [722] and Virtual MME [723] mayhave corresponding standard S-GW and MME interfaces with the basestation functionality rBS [740] accordingly. If a remote core is used bythe relay, the Virtual S-GW [722] and Virtual MME [723] may emulatethese core functions as proxies so that the base station functionalityrBS [740] works smoothly and seamlessly despite remoteness of the core.

The Routing & QoS subsystem [728] may comprise some or all of a routingagent [727], Load manager [729] and QoS Agent [730]. Routing & QoSsubsystem [728] communicates with the mobile station functionality (rMS)[741] e.g. using AT Commands or any suitable proprietary interface[705]. Routing & QoS subsystem [728] communicates with the base stationfunctionality rBS e.g. using the M&C interface [735]. Using the M&Cinterface the Routing and QOS subsystem may command a change in variousparameters in the base station functionality rBS [740] such as PLMN,and/or may command the base station functionality rBS [740] to initiatea handover mechanism of an attached mobile station. Using the mobilestation functionality (rMS) [741] interface [705] the Routing and QoSsubsystem [728] may receive radio measurements of served base stationsor neighboring base stations, and may send fake radio measurements tothe mobile station functionality (rMS) [741] that the mobile stationfunctionality may send to its serving base station in order to intervenewith the handover mechanism. Routing and QoS subsystem [728] mayregister to specific access point names (APN) and/or create additionalbearers.

The Load manager [729] is operative for balancing traffic loads betweendifferent relays. Load manager [729] may perform actions such as but notlimited to: indicating other relay resource manager elements such as butnot limited to any or all of: Radio Resource Subsystem [714], Routingagent [727], QoS agent [730] or Encapsulation manager (block of theVirtual Core Subsystem [715]) or mobile station functionality [741] orbase station functionality rBS [740] or mobility management entity MMEof remote core (of the static network or) that which current siteloaded. Load manager [729] may also command the routing agent to try tochange topology in order to gain more bandwidth (at the backhaulinglink), or to request that additional bandwidth be assigned to the mobilestation functionality (rMS) for the backhauling link from the mobilitymanagement entity MME of remote core.

The QOS agent [730] is operative for creating bearers according to thecurrent attached mobile stations and their bandwidth requests in casethere is a need for a additional bearer due to the multi-hop mechanism.

The Radio Resource Subsystem [714] may comprise some or all of: Radioresource manager [724], Radio Quality and Arena Reporter [725] and RadioResource Controller [726]. The radio resource subsystem [714] isoperative for reducing interference between: (1) relay's access linkswhich may be sent and received by the base station functionality rBS[740]) and relay's backhauling links which may be sent and received bythe rUE (rMS) [740]; (2) relay's access links and other relays' accesslinks; and (3) relay backhauling links and other relays' backhaulinglinks. The Radio resource controller [726] is operative for controllingdifferent radio resources of the mobile station functionality rUE [741]and of base station functionality rBS [740] e.g some or all of: lowerbase station functionality transmission power, blanking particular basestation functionality resource blocks/subframe/s, request for mobilestation functionality uplink grant, changing center frequency, changingbandwidth.

The Radio Quality and Arena Reporter [725] may be operative forgathering a radio measurement report indicating received power reportsof the base station functionality rBS [740] and base stationfunctionality rBS's neighboring base stations from the connected mobilestations reporting to the base station functionality rBS [740] and fromthe mobile station functionality rUE [741]. The radio measurement reportmay indicate one or more of: the mobile station functionality's servingbase station's radio measurements; and/or radio measurements of mobilestation functionality rUE [741]'s active set, e.g. list of neighboringbase stations that mobile station functionality rUE [741] is operativeto measure periodically. The Radio Resource Subsystem sends themeasurement report through the interface to the Virtual Core subsystem[742], typically using the encapsulation manager, to radio resourcesubsystems of other relays' relay resource managers as a radio qualityreport. This radio quality report may be relevant for distributed radioresource management mechanisms and/or for decisions relevant to therouting agent.

The radio resource manager may receive radio quality reports from theradio resource manager's local Radio quality and arena reporter [725]and from neighboring relays' Radio quality and arena reporters. Theradio resource manager may compute the level of interference between thevarious stations, e.g. of relays and optionally of the static network.The radio resource manager may also provide radio resource configurationrecommendations to its local radio resource controller [726] and/or toits neighboring relays' radio resource controller/s through interface[742] and using the encapsulation manager of the Virtual core subsystem[715].

The Radio resource manager [714] can optionally communicate in interface[706] e.g. using AT Commands or other proprietary protocol with themobile station functionality rUE [741]. The Radio resource manager canfurther optionally communicate in interface [734] e.g. using M&Cprotocol with the base station functionality rBS [740]. The Radioresource manager can further optionally communicate with other relays'radio resource subsystems through interface [742] e.g. using the virtualcore subsystem [715] Encapsulation manager.

Tunneling Subsystem [713], Routing & QoS Subsystem [728] and RarioResource Subsystem [714] are optional subsystems of the relay resourcemanager rRM. All or any subset of these subsystems can be added to therelay resource manager rRM by need.

FIG. 9b is a simplified block diagram of a relay resource manager (rRM)[742] of an upgraded (multi-element) moving relay according to anembodiment of the present invention. The illustrated configuration oftwo rMSs and two rBSs can be degraded to having, in the upgraded relay,only two rBSs and single rMS or only two rMSs and single rBS.

FIG. 10 is a simplified block diagram of a relay resource manager (rRM)of a relay that includes a Stand-alone subsystem, according to anembodiment of the present invention. This subsystem can be added to theupgraded moving relay in order to enable the upgraded moving relay tooperate in an emergency mode.

FIG. 11 is a simplified block diagram of a relay resource manager (rRM)of a relay having an internal router service application for multi-hopencapsulation. This router service application can be added to theupgraded relay to enable the upgraded relay to effect extended tunnelsfor multi-hop encapsulation.

Operation of a cellular communication system that utilizes moving relaysas well as a hierarchical cellular network is described in PCTApplication No. PCT/IL2011/000096 entitled “Cellular communicationsystem with moving base stations and methods and apparatus useful inconjunction therewith” filed on Jan. 27, 2011 published as Published PCTApplication No. WO/2011/092698. The moving relays described in the abovepublication are useful in the present application except that asdescribed herein, each moving relay rather than including a singlemobile station functionality, a single base station functionality and asingle relay resource manager e.g. radio resource manager, includes morethan one mobile station functionality and/or more than one base stationfunctionality. The following embodiments inter alia are known in the artby virtue of being described in the above publication:

Embodiment 1

A moving cellular communication system comprising:

a plurality of moving relays each including base station functionality,a radio manager and mobile station functionality, all co-located,

wherein each base station functionality is operative to communicate viaantennae with at least one mobile station thereby to define a firstradio link there between, and wherein each base station functionalityhas a physical connection to its co-located radio manager,

wherein each mobile station functionality communicates via antennae witha unit which has base station functionality thereby to define a secondradio link,

wherein the radio manager in each individual moving relay comprises:

-   -   a radio resource manager; and    -   functionality for exchanging information with radio managers        included in moving relays other than said individual moving        relay,

wherein said information is used by said radio resource manager toselect, for at least one individual mobile station seeking to be served,one of:

-   -   a static base station; and    -   a base station functionality,

to which to connect said individual mobile station in order to providecellular communication services thereto.

Embodiment 2

A system according to embodiment 1 operative in conjunction with acellular network including a core device, at least one static basestation, and a population of mobile stations communicating via antennaewith at least one of the base stations, wherein at least one topologicalchange in said system occurs dynamically, said topological changecomprises a dynamic change in at least one connection between a movingrelay and at least one of a moving relay and a static base station.

Embodiment 3

A system according to embodiment 2 wherein at least one radio resourcemanager locally stores at least some of the information it uses to makea decision regarding selection of a cellular communication serviceprovider for an individual mobile station seeking to be served, evenafter said decision has been made, thereby to generate a databaseco-located with said radio resource manager.

Embodiment 4

A system according to embodiment 1 wherein said information used by saidradio resource manager includes information obtained from its co-locatedbase station functionality.

Embodiment 5

A system according to embodiment 1 or embodiment 4 wherein saidinformation used by said radio resource manager includes informationobtained from its co-located mobile station functionality.

Embodiment 6

A system according to embodiment 5 wherein said information obtainedfrom said co-located mobile station functionality is derived from atleast one measurement of at least one characteristic of said secondradio link.

Embodiment 7

A system according to embodiment 6 wherein said functionalities areprovided in accordance with a cellular communication standard andwherein said information includes information provided by said mobilestation functionality in accordance with said standard.

Embodiment 8

A system according to embodiment 7 wherein said cellular communicationstandard comprises 3GPP E-UTRAN LTE.

Embodiment 9

A system according to embodiment 8, where the information includes atleast one of RSSI, RSRP, RSRQ.

Embodiment 10

A system according to embodiment 1 wherein each said moving relay andeach said mobile station constitutes a cellular communication node andwherein said links generate routes interconnecting said nodes andwherein at least one radio resource manager residing at an individualnode is operative to compute a route quality parameter characterizingquality of at least one individual route passing through said individualnode, by combining information pertaining to links along said individualroute.

Embodiment 11

A system according to embodiment 10 wherein said radio resource manageroperative to compute a route quality parameter combines informationpertaining to links along said individual route by computing a minimumfrom among values characterizing respective qualities of all linksforming said individual route.

Embodiment 12

A system according to embodiment 10 wherein said system is operative inconjunction with a cellular network including a core device, at leastone static base station, and a population of mobile stationscommunicating via antennae with at least one of the base stations, andwherein said individual route comprises a route connecting saidindividual node to at least one of the static base stations.

Embodiment 13

A system according to embodiment 1 wherein said system is operative inconjunction with a static network including a core device, at least onestatic base station, and a population of mobile stations communicatingvia antennae with at least one of the base stations and wherein eachindividual radio manager that does not have a sufficiently high qualityconnection to the static network may provide communication, via saidindividual radio manager's co-located base station functionality,between mobile stations that are connected to said co-located basestation functionality.

Embodiment 14

A system according to embodiment 13 wherein said system is operative inconjunction with a static network including a core device, at least onestatic base station, and a population of mobile stations communicatingvia antennae with at least one of the base stations and wherein eachradio manager that does not have a connection to the static network mayprovide communication, via said individual radio manager's co-locatedbase station functionality, between mobile stations that are connectedto said co-located base station functionality.

Embodiment 15

A system according to embodiment 1 wherein at least one individual radiomanager may provide communication, via at least one base stationfunctionality linked to said radio manager, between mobile stations thatare connected to said at least one base station functionality.

Embodiment 16

A system according to embodiment 1 wherein each resource manager isoperative to selectably establish communication between at least onemobile station connected to its co-located base station functionalityand at least one mobile station connected to a moving relay to whichsaid resource manager's co-located mobile station functionality islinked via a route.

Embodiment 17

A system according to embodiment 16 wherein said route includes aplurality of links.

Embodiment 18

A system according to embodiment 10 wherein said radio resource managerresiding at said individual node computes a plurality of route qualityparameters for a corresponding plurality of route alternatives.

Embodiment 19

A system according to embodiment 18 wherein said radio resource managerprovides said plurality of route quality parameters to an individualmobile station connected to the base station functionality co-locatedwith said radio resource manager.

Embodiment 20

A system according to embodiment 19 wherein said individual mobilestation is operative, when in a mode in which it is its own decision towhich unit having base station functionality it is to be connected, tomake said decision based at least in part on said plurality of routequality parameters.

Embodiment 21

A system according to embodiment 6 wherein said information obtainedfrom said co-located mobile station functionality includes said at leastone measurement itself.

Embodiment 22

A system according to embodiment 4 wherein said information obtainedfrom said co-located base station functionality is derived from at leastone measurement of at least one characteristic of said first radio link.

Embodiment 23

A system according to embodiment 22 wherein said information obtainedfrom said co-located base station functionality includes said at leastone measurement itself.

Embodiment 24

A system according to embodiment 8 or embodiment 9 where the informationincludes a rsSINR (reference signal SINR) metric.

Embodiment 25

A system according to embodiment 1 in which an individual mobile stationis connected to an individual base station functionality and wherein adecision to transfer said individual mobile station away from saidindividual base station functionality is made by a resource managerco-located with said individual base station functionality.

Embodiment 26

A system according to embodiment 1 and also comprising a cellularnetwork including a core device, at least one static base station, and apopulation of mobile stations communicating via antennae with at leastone of the base stations.

Embodiment 27

A system according to embodiment 26 and also comprising a relay networkmanager (DisNetRM) located at a static network core device.

Embodiment 28

A system according to embodiment 1 wherein, for at least one mobilestation functionality in at least one individual moving relay, said unitwhich has base station functionality comprises a base stationfunctionality of a moving relay other than said individual moving relay.

Embodiment 29

A system according to embodiment 1 operative in conjunction with acellular network including a core device, at least one static basestation, and a population of mobile stations communicating via antennaewith at least one of the base stations, wherein, for at least one mobilestation functionality in at least one individual moving relay, said unitwhich has base station functionality comprises said static base station.

Embodiment 30

A system according to embodiment 1 wherein said information, but forsaid exchanging, is accessible to only a subset of said radio managers.

Embodiment 31

A system according to embodiment 1 wherein said information compriseslink information characterizing at least one of said radio links.

Embodiment 32

A system according to embodiment 28 wherein for the mobile stationfunctionality co-located with said moving relay other than saidindividual moving relay, said unit which has base station functionalityalso comprises a base station functionality of a moving relay ratherthan a static base station, thereby to provide multi-hop capability tosaid system.

Embodiment 33

A system according to embodiment 27 in which an individual mobilestation is connected to an individual base station functionality andwherein a decision to transfer said individual mobile station away fromsaid individual base station functionality is made centrally by saidrelay network manager (DisNetRM)

Embodiment 34

A system according to embodiment 20 and also comprising a cellularnetwork including a core device, at least one static base station, and apopulation of mobile stations communicating via antennae with at leastone of the base stations wherein said individual mobile station decidesto establish connection with the unit having base station functionalitywhich, according to said plurality of route quality parameters, providessaid individual mobile station with the best route to one of the staticbase stations.

Embodiment 35

A mobile communication network system operative in conjunction with acore network including a core device and at least one static basestation, the system comprising:

a plurality of base stations; and

a population of mobile stations communicating via antennae with the basestations;

the base stations including at least one moving base station whichcommunicates via antennae with the mobile stations and includes basestation functionality, a first radio manager and mobile stationfunctionality all co-located with the base station functionality,

the base station functionality having a physical back-connection to thefirst radio manager, the first radio manager having a physicalconnection with the mobile station functionality, the mobile stationfunctionality communicating via antennae with at least one selectablestatic base station,

wherein the first radio manager comprises:

-   -   a radio resource manager; and    -   functionality for receiving information from, and sending        information to, other radio managers, respectively co-located        with other moving base stations, and for using the information        to determine whether to reject at least one mobile station        seeking to be served by an individual base station associated        with the individual co-located radio manager,

wherein the information used to determine whether to reject includes atleast one of the following:

-   -   location of said at least one moving base station; and    -   statistics re measurements of link quality.

Embodiment 36

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein said information comprisesinformation regarding qualities of respective connections ofrespectively co-located radio managers back to the core network, whichis provided by respectively co-located radio managers via a selected oneof:

a static base station from among the at least one static base station ofthe core network; and

a moving base station capable of providing service to the individualradio manager's co-located mobile device.

Embodiment 37

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein said information regardingquality of its own connection back to the core network is provided byits own co-located mobile station.

Embodiment 38

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein said information includesinformation regarding channel quality which other base stations are ableto provide mobile stations in the vicinity of the individual co-locatedradio manager and which is provided by reports generated by said mobilestations in said vicinity.

Embodiment 39

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein said information regardingquality of service available from its own base station for mobilestations in the vicinity of the individual co-located radio manager isprovided by its own co-located mobile station.

Embodiment 40

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein said other radio manager isoperative to compute, for at least one individual mobile station, routecomparison information including a plurality of routes of base stationsvia which the individual mobile station may communicate with the corenetwork and at least one parameter characterizing the relative qualityof each of said routes and to communicate to said individual mobilestation information indicative of said route comparison information andwherein said individual mobile station is operative to select a basestation to be connected to, at least partly based on said informationindicative of said route comparison information.

Embodiment 41

A system according to embodiment 40 wherein said parameter is based upona minimum SNR (signal noise ratio) value, over sections which togethercompose a route, each section having its own SNR (signal noise ratio)value.

Embodiment 42

A system according to embodiment 40 wherein said parametercharacterizing route quality is a combination of measured qualities ofroute sections and fluctuations thereof such that route sections withlargely fluctuating quality measurements are devalued due to theirunpredictability.

Embodiment 43

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein at least one individualco-located radio manager includes a mobile-to-mobile directcommunication facilitation functionality operative to provide directcommunication, not requiring said core network, between a plurality ofmobile devices in said individual radio manager's vicinity.

Embodiment 44

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein said moving base stationobserves a silence period during which it refrains from transmitting toits own co-located mobile station.

Embodiment 45

A system according to embodiment 44 wherein at least one characteristicof said silence period is dynamically determined by the moving basestation's co-located radio manager.

Embodiment 46

A system according to embodiment 45 wherein said characteristiccomprises a zone in which silence is observed which is defined over atleast one of a frequency band and a time window.

Embodiment 47

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein said network comprises atactical E-UTRAN network.

Embodiment 48

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein if a multi-hop communicationroute is used, in which a relay R that is connected to the core networkvia another relay A, relay R sends a message to a backhauling relay thatR is A's anchor.

Embodiment 49

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein said static base station isco-located with said core device.

Embodiment 50

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein said physicalback-connection comprises an Ethernet back-connection.

Embodiment 51

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein said radio resource managercomprises an E-UTRAN radio resource manager.

Embodiment 52

A mobile communication networking method comprising:

providing a core network including a core device and at least one staticbase station; a plurality of base stations; and a population of mobilestations communicating via antennae with the base stations;

-   -   the base stations including at least one moving base station        which communicates via antennae with the mobile stations and        includes base station functionality, a first radio manager and        mobile station functionality all co-located with said base        station functionality,    -   the base station functionality having a physical back-connection        to the first radio manager, the first radio manager having a        physical connection with said mobile station functionality, the        mobile station functionality communicating via antennae with at        least one selectable static base station,    -   wherein said first radio manager comprises a radio resource        manager; and functionality for receiving information from, and        sending information to, other radio managers, respectively        co-located with other moving base stations; and

using said information to determine whether to reject at least onemobile station seeking to be served by an individual base stationassociated with said first radio manager.

Embodiment 53

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein users are shown a goodlocation for Quality Grade Result (QGR).

Embodiment 54

A system according to embodiment 53 wherein statistical measurements ofa co-located MS in each at least one relay are attached to locationresults of the relay and wherein said system includes at least one relayradio manager (rRM) having a functionality that computes and indicatesto the user locations with good QGC (quality grade control).

Embodiment 55

A system according to embodiment 48 wherein the backhauling relaybecomes aware that another relay is connected to it and finds a goodplace to remain.

Embodiment 56

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein said information includesinformation regarding qualities of other base stations' respectiveconnections back to the core network.

Embodiment 57

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein said information includesinformation regarding quality of the first radio manager's moving basestation's connection back to the core network.

Embodiment 58

A system according to embodiment 35 wherein said information includesinformation regarding channel qualities which said first radio manager'sown base station, and base stations other than said first radiomanager's own base station, are respectively able to provide, to mobilestations in the vicinity of the first radio manager.

Embodiment 59

A method according to embodiment 52 wherein said information includesinformation regarding qualities of other base stations' respectiveconnections back to the core network.

Embodiment 60

A method according to embodiment 52 wherein said information includesinformation regarding quality of the first radio manager's moving basestation's connection back to the core network.

Embodiment 61

A method according to embodiment 52 wherein said information includesinformation regarding channel qualities which said first radio manager'sown base station, and base stations other than said first radiomanager's own base station, are respectively able to provide, to mobilestations in the vicinity of the first radio manager.

Embodiment 62

Combinations of embodiments with other embodiments.

Embodiment 63

A mobile communication network system operative in conjunction with anetwork including a core device, a plurality of base stations includingat least one static base station, and a population of mobile stationscommunicating via antennae with at least one of the base stations, thesystem comprising:

at least one moving base station included in said plurality of basestations which communicates via antennae with the mobile stations andincludes base station functionality, a first radio manager and mobilestation functionality all co-located with the base stationfunctionality,

the base station functionality having a physical back-connection to thefirst radio manager, the first radio manager having a physicalconnection with the mobile station functionality, the mobile stationfunctionality communicating via antennae with at least one selectablebase station,

wherein the first radio manager comprises:

-   -   a radio resource manager; and    -   functionality for receiving information from, and for sending        information to, other radio managers, respectively co-located        with other moving base stations, and for using the information        to determine whether to reject at least one mobile station        seeking to be served by an individual base station associated        with the individual co-located radio manager.

Embodiment 64

A mobile communication network system operative in conjunction with anetwork including a core device, a plurality of base stations includingat least one static base station, and a population of mobile stationscommunicating via antennae with at least one of the base stations, thesystem comprising:

at least one moving base station included in said plurality of basestations which communicates via antennae with the mobile stations andincludes base station functionality, a first radio manager and mobilestation functionality all co-located with the base stationfunctionality, the base station functionality having a physicalback-connection to the first radio manager, the first radio managerhaving a physical connection with the mobile station functionality, themobile station functionality communicating via antennae with at leastone selectable base station,

wherein the first radio manager comprises:

-   -   a radio resource manager; and    -   functionality for receiving information from, and sending        information to, other radio managers, respectively co-located        with other moving base stations,

wherein at least one radio manager is operative to compute, for at leastone individual moving base station, route comparison informationincluding a plurality of routes of base stations via which theindividual moving base station may communicate with the core network andat least one parameter characterizing the relative quality of each ofsaid routes and wherein said individual moving base station connects toa serving base station selected at least partly based on informationindicative of said route comparison information,

and wherein the plurality of routes of base stations via which theindividual moving base station may communicate with the core networkincludes at least one route characterized by multi-hop backhauling.

Embodiment 65

A system according to embodiment 63 wherein said mobile station seekingto be served by said individual base station includes a mobile stationcurrently being served by said individual base station.

Embodiment 66

A system according to embodiment 63 wherein said individual base stationis co-located with the individual co-located radio manager.

Embodiment 67

A system according to embodiment 63 wherein said individual base stationis served by the individual co-located radio manager.

Embodiment 68

A system according to embodiment 63 wherein said functionality is alsooperative to determine a base station other than said individual basestation, which is more suitable than said individual base station toserve said mobile station seeking to be served.

Embodiment 69

A system according to embodiment 63 wherein at least one radio manageris operative to compute, for at least one individual moving basestation, route comparison information including a plurality of routes ofbase stations via which the individual moving base station maycommunicate with the core network and at least one parametercharacterizing the relative quality of each of said routes and whereinsaid individual moving base station connects to a serving base stationselected at least partly based on information indicative of said routecomparison information.

Embodiment 70

A system according to embodiment 64 wherein each said other radiomanager is operative to compute, for at least one individual mobilestation, route comparison information including a plurality of routes ofbase stations via which the individual mobile station may communicatewith the core network and at least one parameter characterizing therelative quality of each of said routes and to communicate to saidindividual mobile station information indicative of said routecomparison information and wherein said individual mobile station isoperative to select a base station to be connected to, at least partlybased on said information indicative of said route comparisoninformation.

Embodiment 71

A system according to embodiment 64 wherein the radio manager computessaid route comparison information for an individual moving base stationserved thereby whose mobile station functionality is communicating inidle mode, via antenna, with at least one selectable base station.

Embodiment 72

A system according to embodiment 64 wherein the radio manager computessaid route comparison information for a moving base station co-locatedtherewith whose mobile station functionality is communicating in activemode, via antenna, with at least one selectable base station.

Embodiment 73

A system according to embodiment 71 and wherein the individual movingbase station camps on said serving base station selected at least partlybased on said information indicative of said route comparisoninformation.

Embodiment 74

A system according to embodiment 72 and wherein the individual movingbase station is handed over to said serving base station selected atleast partly based on said information indicative of said routecomparison information.

Embodiment 75

A system according to embodiment 63 and also comprising a core deviceand wherein the core device allocates constant communication sessionbandwidth between each mobile station functionality and the base stationwith which it is communicating so as to maintain a constant active modeof communication between each mobile station functionality and the basestation.

Embodiment 76

A system according to embodiment 64 and also comprising a core deviceand wherein the core device allocates constant communication sessionbandwidth between each mobile station functionality and the base stationwith which it is communicating so as to maintain a constant active modeof communication between each mobile station functionality and the basestation.

Embodiment 77

A mobile communication network system serving a population of mobilestations communicating via antennae with base stations, the systemincluding:

a plurality of base stations including at least one static base stationand at least one moving base station which communicates via antennaewith the mobile stations and includes base station functionality, afirst radio manager and mobile station functionality all co-located withthe base station functionality, the base station functionality having aphysical back-connection to the first radio manager, the first radiomanager having a physical connection with the mobile stationfunctionality, the mobile station functionality communicating viaantennae with at least one selectable base station; and

a core device which allocates constant communication session trafficbetween each mobile station functionality and the base station withwhich it is communicating so as to maintain a constant active mode ofcommunication between each mobile station functionality and the basestation.

Embodiment 78

A system according to embodiment 56 wherein said other base stationsinclude all base stations along a route connecting said moving basestation and said core, via which route said core serves said moving basestation.

Embodiment 79

A system according to embodiment 77 wherein said other base stationsinclude all base stations along a route connecting said moving basestation and said core, via which route said core serves said moving basestation.

Embodiment 80

A system according to embodiment 64 wherein said information includesinformation regarding channel qualities which said first radio manager'sown base station, and base stations other than said first radiomanager's own base station, are respectively able to provide, to mobilestations in the vicinity of the first radio manager.

Embodiment 81

A system according to embodiment 63 wherein said functionality isoperative for detecting the quality of each end-user section and thequality of each backhauling section according to mobile stations' andmobile station functionalities' measurements and for combining saidqualities into quality grade results for a current route and foralternative routes for at least one mobile station.

Embodiment 82

A system according to embodiment 81 and wherein said quality graderesults are broadcast to at least one mobile station.

Embodiment 83

A system according to embodiment 81 wherein at least one handoverdecision, to hand over a node from one base station to another, is madeby taking into account, for at least one alternative route, the qualitygrade result of access and backhauling sections.

Embodiment 84

A system according to embodiment 81 wherein at least one cell admissiondecision is made by taking into account, for at least one alternativeroute, the quality grade result of access and backhauling sections.

Embodiment 85

A system according to embodiment 81 wherein at least one cellreselection decision is made by taking into account, for at least onealternative route, the quality grade result of access and backhaulingsections.

Embodiment 86

A system according to embodiment 81 wherein said mobile stations' andmobile station functionalities' measurements include RSRP.

Embodiment 87

A system according to embodiment 81 wherein said mobile stations' andmobile station functionalities' measurements include RSRI.

Embodiment 88

A system according to embodiment 81 wherein said mobile stations' andmobile station functionalities' measurements include RSRQ.

Embodiment 89

A system according to embodiment 63 wherein each radio manager usesmeasurements from at least one other radio manager over a sub-network,and at least one of RSRP, RSRI and RSRQ measurements from at least oneof its co-located mobile station functionality and a mobile station, tobuild a radio resource measurements table.

Embodiment 90

A system according to embodiment 89 wherein at least one of saidmeasurements is distributed by broadcast message type to all radiomanagers.

Embodiment 91

A system according to embodiment 81 wherein the Quality Grade Result(QGR) of all alternative routes is distributed to mobile stations usinga broadcast message.

Embodiment 92

A system according to embodiment 91 wherein the broadcast messagerelating to each individual base station is sent to all mobile stationscamping on said individual base station.

Embodiment 93

A system according to embodiment 64 wherein said information includesinformation regarding qualities of other base stations' respectiveconnections back to the core network.

Embodiment 94

A system according to embodiment 63 wherein said information istransmitted between “colleague” radio managers via radio.

Embodiment 95

A system according to embodiment 63 wherein at least one radio manager“masquerades” as a base station by sending a request to a mobile stationfunctionality to execute an NMR (Network Measurement Report)measurement.

Embodiment 96

A system according to embodiment 63 wherein said information includesinformation regarding quality which the first radio manager's mobilestation functionality would be served by each base station capable ofserving the first radio manager's mobile station functionality.

Embodiment 97

Combinations of a subset of features of certain embodiments with asubset of features of other embodiments.

Embodiment 98

A system according to embodiment 1 and wherein said radio managerincludes an in-band multi-hop backhauling functionality.

Embodiment 99

A system according to embodiment 98 wherein said in-band multi-hopbackhauling functionality is operative to enhance immunity due tointerference by creating new alternative routes to replace routes thatare dropped due to interference, wherein each new alternative routeincludes a section between the end-user mobile station and mobile relayit is connected to, and a backhauling section, including the linksbetween the mobile relays that take part as nodes in the route.

Embodiment 100

A system according to embodiment 1 wherein backhauling connectivity isprovided by utilizing multi-hop routes between said moving relays.

Embodiment 101

A system according to embodiment 1 wherein backhauling of said movingrelays comprises in-band multi-hop backhauling.

Embodiment 102

A system according to embodiment 1 wherein for at least one mobilestation functionality in at least one individual moving relay, said unitwhich has base station functionality comprises an LTE base stationfunctionality.

Embodiment 103

A system according to embodiment 1 wherein for at least one mobilestation functionality in at least one individual moving relay, said unitwhich has base station functionality comprises a 2G base stationfunctionality.

Embodiment 104

A system according to embodiment 1 wherein for at least one mobilestation functionality in at least one individual moving relay, said unitwhich has base station functionality comprises a 3G base stationfunctionality.

Any suitable IP connectivity gateway may be used herein, not beinglimited to what is specifically shown and described herein, such as butnot limited to one of: an IP-connectivity GW in LTE; one of a P-Gateway,S-Gateway, PIS-Gateway and Access-Gateway; in 3G GGSN, an SGSN, inWiMAX, an ASN-Gateway in CSN;

Any suitable mobility management entity may be used herein, not beinglimited to what is specifically shown and described herein, such as butnot limited to one of: an LTE MME, a 3G RNC, and a WiMAX ASN.

It is appreciated that terminology such as “mandatory”, “required”,“need” and “must” refer to implementation choices made within thecontext of a particular implementation or application describedherewithin for clarity and are not intended to be limiting since in analternative implantation, the same elements might be defined as notmandatory and not required or might even be eliminated altogether.

It is appreciated that software components of the present inventionincluding programs and data may, if desired, be implemented in ROM (readonly memory) form including CD-ROMs, EPROMs and EEPROMs, or may bestored in any other suitable typically non-transitory computer-readablemedium such as but not limited to disks of various kinds, cards ofvarious kinds and RAMs. Components described herein as software may,alternatively, be implemented wholly or partly in hardware, if desired,using conventional techniques. Conversely, components described hereinas hardware may, alternatively, be implemented wholly or partly insoftware, if desired, using conventional techniques.

Included in the scope of the present invention, inter alia, areelectromagnetic signals carrying computer-readable instructions forperforming any or all of the steps of any of the methods shown anddescribed herein, in any suitable order; machine-readable instructionsfor performing any or all of the steps of any of the methods shown anddescribed herein, in any suitable order; program storage devicesreadable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructionsexecutable by the machine to perform any or all of the steps of any ofthe methods shown and described herein, in any suitable order; acomputer program product comprising a computer useable medium havingcomputer readable program code, such as executable code, having embodiedtherein, and/or including computer readable program code for performing,any or all of the steps of any of the methods shown and describedherein, in any suitable order; any technical effects brought about byany or all of the steps of any of the methods shown and describedherein, when performed in any suitable order; any suitable apparatus ordevice or combination of such, programmed to perform, alone or incombination, any or all of the steps of any of the methods shown anddescribed herein, in any suitable order; electronic devices eachincluding a processor and a cooperating input device and/or outputdevice and operative to perform in software any steps shown anddescribed herein; information storage devices or physical records, suchas disks or hard drives, causing a computer or other device to beconfigured so as to carry out any or all of the steps of any of themethods shown and described herein, in any suitable order; a programpre-stored e.g. in memory or on an information network such as theInternet, before or after being downloaded, which embodies any or all ofthe steps of any of the methods shown and described herein, in anysuitable order, and the method of uploading or downloading such and asystem including server/s and/or client/s for using such; and hardwarewhich performs any or all of the steps of any of the methods shown anddescribed herein, in any suitable order, either alone or in conjunctionwith software. Any computer-readable or machine-readable media describedherein is intended to include non-transitory computer- ormachine-readable media.

Any computations or other forms of analysis described herein may beperformed by a suitable computerized method. Any step described hereinmay be computer-implemented. The invention shown and described hereinmay include (a) using a computerized method to identify a solution toany of the problems or for any of the objectives described herein, thesolution optionally include at least one of a decision, an action, aproduct, a service or any other information described herein thatimpacts, in a positive manner, a problem or objectives described herein;and (b) outputting the solution.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to structures andfunctions specifically described herein and is also intended to includedevices which have the capacity to yield a structure, or perform afunction, described herein, such that even though users of the devicemay not use the capacity, they are, if they so desire, able to modifythe device to obtain the structure or function.

Features of the present invention which are described in the context ofseparate embodiments may also be provided in combination in a singleembodiment.

For example, a system embodiment is intended to include a correspondingprocess embodiment. Also, each system embodiment is intended to includea server-centered “view” or client centered “view”, or “view” from anyother node of the system, of the entire functionality of the system,computer-readable medium, apparatus, including only thosefunctionalities performed at that server or client or node.

Conversely, features of the invention, including method steps, which aredescribed for brevity in the context of a single embodiment or in acertain order may be provided separately or in any suitablesubcombination or in a different order. “e.g.” is used herein in thesense of a specific example which is not intended to be limiting.Devices, apparatus or systems shown coupled in any of the drawings mayin fact be integrated into a single platform in certain embodiments ormay be coupled via any appropriate wired or wireless coupling such asbut not limited to optical fiber, Ethernet, Wireless LAN, HomePNA, powerline communication, cell phone, PDA, Blackberry GPRS, Satelliteincluding GPS, or other mobile delivery. It is appreciated that in thedescription and drawings shown and described herein, functionalitiesdescribed or illustrated as systems and sub-units thereof can also beprovided as methods and steps therewithin, and functionalities describedor illustrated as methods and steps therewithin can also be provided assystems and sub-units thereof. The scale used to illustrate variouselements in the drawings is merely exemplary and/or appropriate forclarity of presentation and is not intended to be limiting.

The present invention has been described with a certain degree ofparticularity, but those versed in the art will readily appreciate thatvarious alternations and modifications may be carried out withoutdeparting from the scope of following claims.

1-53. (canceled)
 54. A moving cellular communication system comprising:at least one upgraded moving relay including at least one base stationfunctionality and at least two mobile station functionalities and arelay resource manager, all co-located, wherein the relay resourcemanager includes a routing and quality-of-service subsystem operative tocommunicate with at least one base station functionality and at leastone of said mobile station functionalities, wherein each base stationfunctionality of said upgraded moving relay is operative to communicatevia antennae with at least one mobile station thereby to define at leastone first radio link therebetween, and wherein each base stationfunctionality has a connection to its co-located relay resource manager,wherein each mobile station functionality from among said at least twomobile station functionalities of said upgraded moving relaycommunicates via antennae with a unit which has base stationfunctionality thereby to define at least two second radio links,respectively, wherein the relay resource manager in at least oneindividual moving relay comprises: a radio resource manager; andfunctionality for exchanging information with relay resource managersincluded in moving relays other than said individual moving relay. 55.The system according to claim 54, wherein at least one of said mobilestation functionalities within an upgraded moving relay serves as abackup to other mobile station functionality of the same upgraded movingrelay, and said relay resource manager is operative to switchcommunication from said other mobile station functionality to saidbackup mobile station functionality in response to meeting a mobilestation handover criterion.
 56. A method for providing moving cellularcommunication, the method comprising: providing at least one upgradedmoving relay including at least one base station functionality, a relayresource manager, and at least two mobile station functionalities eachof which includes a modem, all co-located, wherein each base stationfunctionality of said upgraded moving relay is operative to communicatevia antennae with at least one mobile station thereby to define at leastone first radio link therebetween, and wherein each base stationfunctionality has a connection to its co-located relay resource manager,wherein each mobile station functionality from among said at least twomobile station functionalities of said upgraded moving relaycommunicates via antennae with a unit which has base stationfunctionality thereby to define at least two second radio links,respectively, wherein providing the relay resource manager in eachindividual moving relay comprises: providing a radio resource manager;and providing functionality for exchanging information with relayresource managers included in moving relays other than said individualmoving relay.
 57. The method according to claim 56 and also comprisingsupporting cellular communication over a many-to-one topology.
 58. Themethod according to claim 56 and also comprising using said two mobilestation functionalities to support cellular communication over amany-to-many topology.
 59. The method according to claim 56 and alsocomprising using said two mobile station functionalities to perform atleast one backhauling operation at a data rate which exceeds a data rateof a backhauling operation performed using only one of the two mobilestation functionalities.
 60. The method according to claim 56 and alsocomprising using said two mobile station functionalities to provide alarger number of bearers than would be available if cellularcommunication were supported by only one of the two mobile stationfunctionalities.
 61. The method according to claim 56 and alsocomprising using said two mobile station functionalities to provide hotredundancy.
 62. The method according to claim 61 wherein said hotredundancy comprises sending backhauling data using said at least twomobile station functionalities a plurality of times rather than onlyonce.
 63. The method according to claim 56 and also comprising usingsaid two mobile station functionalities to provide a plurality ofalternate routes between mobile stations served by said at least onebase station functionality, and a core of a cellular network to whichthe moving relay belongs.
 64. The moving cellular communication systemaccording to claim 54 wherein said relay resource manager also includesa Stand-Alone subsystem.
 65. The moving cellular communication methodaccording to claim 56 wherein said relay resource manager also includesa Stand-Alone subsystem.
 66. The product according to claim 71 whereinsaid relay resource manager also includes a Stand-Alone subsystem. 67.The system according to claim 54 wherein said at least two mobilestation functionalities operate substantially simultaneously.
 68. Thesystem according to claim 64 wherein said at least two mobile stationfunctionalities operate substantially simultaneously.
 69. The methodaccording to claim 65 wherein said at least two mobile stationfunctionalities operate substantially simultaneously.
 70. The productaccording to claim 71 wherein said at least two mobile stationfunctionalities operate substantially simultaneously.
 71. A computerprogram product, comprising a non-transitory computer usable mediumhaving a computer readable program code embodied therein, said computerreadable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method forproviding moving cellular communication, the method comprising:providing at least one upgraded moving relay including at least one basestation functionality, a relay resource manager which includes atunneling subsystem operative to provide tunnels for multi-hopencapsulation, and at least two mobile station functionalities, allco-located, wherein each base station functionality of said upgradedmoving relay is operative to communicate via antennae with at least onemobile station thereby to define at least one first radio linktherebetween, and wherein each base station functionality has aconnection to its co-located relay resource manager, wherein each mobilestation functionality from among said at least two mobile stationfunctionalities of said upgraded moving relay communicates via antennaewith a unit which has base station functionality thereby to define atleast two second radio links, respectively, wherein providing the relayresource manager in each individual moving relay comprises: providing aradio resource manager; and providing functionality for exchanginginformation with relay resource managers included in moving relays otherthan said individual moving relay.
 72. The system according to claim 54wherein the Radio resource manager is operative to communicate with atleast one relay resource manager included in moving relays other thansaid individual moving relay.
 73. The method according to claim 56 andwherein each mobile station functionality also includes an antenna and aradio frequency front-end.